AUSTIN, Texas —

       Texas Gov. Greg Greg Abbott on Thursday ordered another special legislative session to again try passing a GOP voting bill after Democrats left the state in protest to again prevent Republicans from changing the state’s elections laws.

       The announcement was expected and comes as more than 50 Democrats, who left Texas for Washington on July 12, were on the cusp of running out the clock on the current special session and torpedoing the sweeping package to restrict voting options — for a second time since May.

       “I will continue to call special session after special session,” Abbott said.

       The cross-country exodus marked the second time that Democratic lawmakers staged a walkout on the voting overhaul, which they say would make it harder especially for young people, people of color and people with disabilities to vote. But like the effort in May, there remains no clear path for Democrats to permanently block the voting measures, or a list of other contentious GOP-backed proposals up for debate.